About the Taskforce.... some things we know

Girls in Chicago are facing an epidemic of violence. Just check out the Status of Girls in Illinois report to read some stark statistics. Consider: in 2007, more than 1 in 10 Chicago high school girls reported that a boyfriend or girlfriend had hit, slapped or physically hurt them on purpose in the previous year, with Black girls reporting the highest rates of dating violence. 11.3% of students reported being physically forced to have sex; the majority were Latina and African American. Girls also encounter significant violence in their school environments: more than one in nine Chicago high school girls reported that someone had threatened or injured them using a gun, knife, club or other weapon while on school property at least once in the previous year. 10.7% of Chicago high school girls reported that they had missed school because of safety concerns.
 

As we set out to develop an approach to ending violence against girls, there are some things that we know...

We know that violence against girls and young women is pervasive, complex, and cumulative. Young women who experience violence in a dating relationship may also experience violence in other parts of their lives – in their families, their schools, just walking down the street. So focusing on just one type of violence won't work; we need to come together and develop a more comprehensive response.

We know that Chicago offers very few services for girls and young women who experience violence. In their 2007 assessment, the Mayors’ Office on Domestic Violence reported that of the 40 domestic violence agencies they surveyed, 22 provided counseling services to young women. Over an entire year, only 396 youth survivors received counseling through these programs – a drop in the bucket when we look at the overall numbers of youth survivors in our city. Not a single program offered abusers’ services to young men who committed acts of violence. Nor are shelter beds available to youth victims, who are often desperately in need of safe space.

And we know that applying an adult model of violence intervention and prevention just doesn't work for youth. When the Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team, a girl-led organization on the north side, surveyed youth in 2004 to ask who they turn to if they experience dating violence, they found that they were “least likely to call a dating/domestic violence hotline for advice; only 12% probably or definitely would do that.” Less than one quarter of youth would consider turning to the court system for help. The Mayors’ Office assessment confirms this fact, suggesting that teens are wary of seeking orders of protection, a central component of the system’s response for adult survivors.

So what should we do? We created the Taskforce to begin to answer this question - for those of us in Chicago who tackle this issue every day to learn from one another, share strategies and best practices, and develop new and comprehensive models of responding to the issue of violence against girls. Because the lives of girls and young women are at stake.